


dear friends, you are angels and drunks

by pummelwhack



Category: Marvel (Comics)
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-18
Updated: 2012-08-18
Packaged: 2017-11-12 10:30:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/489883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pummelwhack/pseuds/pummelwhack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The big kids plus Julie play a game of “would you rather” while staying over the West Coast Avengers campus one night. Shenanigans are had.</p>
            </blockquote>





	dear friends, you are angels and drunks

**Author's Note:**

> Be warned: Karolina and Julie are ooey gooey girlfriends.
> 
> Title taken from an Elbow song.

"Would you rather... " Chase grins. "... bang Spider-Woman, or Captain Marvel?"

It's the third time he's asked Julie which super-powered lady she'd rather screw and there's a collective groan of annoyance from the group but Julie still manages a smirk, a playful spark in her eyes when she says, "As much as I enjoy Spider-Woman's costume, I gotta go with Captain Marvel. Kind of got a thing for blondes."

Karolina blushes on cue, and the wink Julie sends her is shamelessly flirtatious, filled with humor.

"Idiot," Karolina grumbles, shoving Julie's shoulder, but her smile is full of affection and deepens when Julie tilts sideways to kiss Karolina's cheek.

Nico watches them, appreciating the happiness in Karolina's eyes, wishing it could always be this easy.

They have these late-night gatherings when the runaways make their monthly check-in to the academy. At first, their visits only last a few hours, just enough to satisfy Dr. Pym and Tigra, but soon they're being challenged to basketball games and races and sparring matches that quickly swallow up the day and Dr. Pym's constant offer of a hot meal and a few spare rooms for the night becomes too tempting for six kids living off one minimum wage income to resist.

Even so, Nico's mistrust of the adults who she's still not convinced won't try and deceive them (again) is too great for her to sleep, and she finds herself sitting awake with Victor on his borrowed bed, gossiping quietly by soft lamplight. It doesn't take long for Karolina to wander in with a yawning Klara clutching tightly at her hand, and by sunrise they've all fallen asleep in a messy heap on top of the blanket.

After that it becomes routine for the insomniacs to gather when the campus is quiet, shortly after the academy students have gone to bed. Tonight it's Nico, Karolina, Victor, Chase, and Julie, who's a welcome addition to their well-established dynamic. Despite her history with the runaways, she's managed to bond in some way with each of them since beginning her relationship with Karolina. She and Chase enjoy a friendly banter that mostly consists of good-humored teasing and mockery, and with Victor she shares a surprisingly profound passion for all things geekdom—so profound that the two of them have already agreed to cosplay together at WonderCon next year.

As for Nico, there's not so much a bond as there is a quiet, mutual respect: Julie admires the role Nico fills for her family and Nico values the one Julie fills for Karolina.

"My turn, right?" Julie says, and Nico nods. "'Kay. Vic, would you rather be an earthbender or an airbender?"

"Airbender," Victor supplies readily at the same time Chase says, "What?"

"It's one of their nerd things; just nod and go along with it," Nico tells him, receiving a smirk, and Karolina reaches across the bed to smack her toes. They grin at each other playfully while Victor elaborates on his choice for Julie:

"Earthbending is cool shit and like, Toph's my favorite character after Zuko, but I really want to _fly_. I mean, you'd know—how _awesome_ is it? To just lift yourself up and fly whenever you want?"

Here, Julie and Karolina share a smile that's a little too intimate for their casual gathering. "It's _completely_ awesome," Julie tells him. "I'd choose airbending, too, because those airscooters look like a good time. Also, I want a lemur."

"I love those things!"

"Alright, moving on," Chase announces before their game can devolve into a full-fledged dork fest, party for two. "Karolina, you're up."

"I've got a good one," Karolina says, turning a wicked grin Nico's way. "Mean, but good."

This won't end well.

"Would you rather hook up with Striker, or Finesse?"

Nico groans. " _Seriously_ , Kar?"

"Oh, I've _gotta_ know this," Julie laughs, tickled to death by the cruelty of such a choice and Nico kind of hates her right now. Victor's snickering from his corner of the bed.

"Yeah, go on, Nico," Chase goads with this absolute shit-eating grin on his face. "Tell us."

Nico wants to slap him, and Karolina, and everyone else in this room, but it really only takes her a second to make her choice. "Finesse. And that's not because Striker's gay; it's because he's a tool, and Finesse is pretty hot."

There's an uproar of immature delight and Chase shouts, "Righteous!" as he slaps Karolina a high five. She looks utterly pleased with herself.

"Honestly, I'd pick Finesse, too. For the same reason," Julie says, trying to be helpful, but it's clear she's just as amused as the others are, and Nico points an accusatory finger at her face.

"What I said doesn't leave this room," she threatens. "Got it?"

"Scout's honor," Julie swears, mocking the gesture, but she's still smiling and Nico doesn't trust her for a second.

"Vic, you're up."

"And no more nerd questions that the rest of us don't understand!" Chase declares, glaring pointedly between Victor and Julie.

"Okay," Victor says, eyes shining in a way that spells payback. "Chase, would you rather have a threeway with Cloak and Dagger, or Tigra and Dr. Pym?"

Laughter promptly erupts from everyone but Chase. "Oh, come on!"

"Yeah, _go on_ , Chase," Nico drawls, mimicking his teasing from before. "Tell us."

"This is cruel," Chase complains. "Tigra has cat parts and Cloak is fucking terrifying! Can't I mix and match? I'm not thrilled about touching Dr. Pym's dick, but I'll take him over Cloak any day."

The laughter rages on, tears leaking from Nico's eyes.

"No way," Victor tells him. "That's not how the game works."

"You're a _villain_ ," Chase whines, sounding very much like a child who's not getting his way. "I'll get you back."

"Just answer the question!"

"Fine." Chase grits his teeth, avoiding everyone's waiting stare. "Tigra and Dr. Pym."

"I knew it!"

"No _way_."

"Dude, that is _wanky_."

"I swear to god, if any one of you starts saying I have a furry fetish—" A fresh peal of laughter rips through the room and if Nico wasn't doubled over, clutching her sides, she'd see that Chase is genuinely blushing.

"Please, explain," Victor says, breathless from hysterics.

"I don't care how hot Dagger is," Chase snaps. "I don't trust Cloak anywhere near my butt."

Laughter _roars_ too loudly for this hour of the night and Victor, having a fit, falls off the bed with a painful sounding _thud_.

That's all it takes to melt the frown from Chase's face. "Besides," he adds, even smiling a little, "if you can get past the tail, Tigra's a MILF."

And that's the precise moment Hank decides to pop in.

"Hey, keep it down, you guys. It's lights out for the students," he says, then looks pointedly at Julie, "which applies to you, Julie. And if I'm not mistaken, your midterm on extraterrestrial culture takes place tomorrow. I'd say a good night's sleep is definitely in order."

"Don't worry, Dr. Pym. Karolina's been helping me with that," Julie says, full of pride, as her hand slides over Karolina's thigh. The girl in question ducks her head, blonde hair falling across her eyes; Nico knows she's blushing. "She's one of the last five living Majesdanians, you know. And she was engaged to a Skrull. _And_ she's lived off-planet!"

"Yes, I do know vaguely of Karolina's history," Hank says, looking slightly amused.

"Anyway, I'm just having some last minute fun with these guys before exam week starts."

"Sure, but I recommend you have your fun a bit more quietly, or I'll have to sic Tigra on you all." It's a joke, but it still makes them nervous. All the giddy energy from their game rushes out of the room like air in a vacuum. "By the way, Chase," Hank adds, a smirk playing at his lips, "you are correct; she is quite the MILF."

Then he closes the door.

The resulting silence stretches out a few moments, then Chase buries his face in his hands, groaning softly. "Did that just happen?"

"Dude," Victor agrees, reclaiming his spot on the bed. "Y'know, for an adult— _and_ an Avenger—he's pretty chill."

"He's your _grandfather_... Sort of," Nico says, and then awareness hits her. "Oh god, Vic, you realize Chase wants to tag team your sort-of-grandfather and his girlfriend, right?"

A symphony of repulsed noises fills the room.

"Did you really have to go there, Nico?" Victor complains, face twisted in pain.

"Seriously!" Chase concurs. "And I don't want to tag team them! I don't want to tag team _anyone_!"

"Not even me and Karolina?" Julie teases, raking her fingers up higher along Karolina's thigh, just enough to make everyone in the room feel even more uncomfortable.

Chase, to his credit, sticks his tongue out like he's tasted something foul and says, "Gross, no. Karolina's like my sister," but of course, because he's _Chase_ , feels the need to elaborate: "Well, not _completely_ like my sister. I'll totally watch, but I'm not touching anything."

"It wasn't an offer!" Karolina proclaims, looking peeved and _very_ embarrassed but Julie's quick to giggle affectionately and grab her girlfriend's hand, lacing their fingers together. That's all it takes to settle Karolina's brief outrage, her eyes softening as they shift to meet Julie's. The two girls smile at each other in a way that makes Nico very, very happy, but a change of topic is definitely in order.

"Pretty sure it's my turn, yeah?" she asks, and Victor nods. "Cool, mine's for Julie. I've been wondering this for a while. Would you rather have a future as a super hero—an Avenger or a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent or whatever the hell this school trains you to be—or would you rather have a normal life doing... I don't know, anything you want?"

"An actress," Karolina says before Julie can answer, drawing all four sets of eyes her way. "Julie—she wants to be an actress."

The fact that Karolina knows this—or maybe it's that she remembers—seems to mean a lot to Julie because her expression softens into an emotion that can only be described as love. The lines of her face go quiet, as does her tongue, and for a long moment she simply smiles at their tangled fingers like it's some wonder that she gets to do this, gets to hold Karolina's hand and share these little secrets with her.

"I've done the hero thing," Julie says. "Fought monsters, saved innocents—the whole enchilada. And I love that I've been able to help so many people, but I was just a kid. I didn't know what I was getting into. Everyone in this place—when I hear about the things they've been through, I just... I think you need a certain amount of darkness in your heart to be an Avenger. It's not something you sign up for; it's where you go when there's no place else. But I have my family and my friends and my dreams and _Karolina_... " Her cheeks redden slowly, and Nico thinks she might actually be able to hear the sound of Karolina's heart beating against her ribcage. "So yeah, a normal life sounds perfect. I'm going with that one."

The statement weighs more than it should for an audience of barely adults. It bleeds through the following silence, and when Nico looks to the boys she finds they're both smiling at the couple in a rare display of brotherly fondness. Karolina reaches with her free hand and grips Julie's chin, guides her into a sweet kiss that echoes of emotion the rest of them have long since lost.

Their foreheads touch when they break, eyes opening slowly to stare at each other, and that's apparently when the boys exceed their capacity for gooey girl love because they proceed to act like idiots and make obnoxious kissy noises at each other, with the facial expressions to match.

"Yeah, real mature, guys," Nico says, but she's laughing, because it's nice to feel like a kid sometimes; the moments come so rarely.

The girls are both blushing when they finally put some distance between them, and Karolina mumbles an apology but it's clearly insincere—the faintest hint of a smile still curling at her mouth. "Um, I think it's Chase's turn now?"

He nods affirmative. "Mine's for Julie, too." Everyone groans on cue, knowing what's to come. "Would you rather bang Black Widow, or the Scarlet Witch?"

"Chase!"

"Seriously?"

"Give it a rest already!"

"No blondes this time," he points out, looking pleased. Karolina smacks him in the face with a pillow.

Nico lets the laughter ring through her, feeling light, feeling _young_ , feeling things she can't afford to feel on most days, but here in this moment, with her best friends on the planet, with their happiness filling her ears and her heart: she can.


End file.
